Power consumption is a characteristic that may be closely monitored when designing new electronic devices. Not only is power consumption important in portable electronic devices (e.g., smart phones, tablet computers, notebooks, laptops, etc.) where the limitations of internal power sources, (e.g., batteries) are readily apparent, but also to ensure that all electronic devices comply with power consumption guidelines set forth by various organizations, governmental bodies, etc. (e.g., environmental groups, educational institutions, state regulations, Energy Star from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, etc.). Power consumption may be monitored throughout the design process, and into the lifecycle of products released to the public. This allows designers to understand power consumption characteristics of a basic device, and also to comprehend how the power consumption of the device changes when configured by the user (e.g., how different uses, modifications, applications, etc. may affect power consumption in the device). Observing how devices may operate in real-life usage situations may be important to, for example, aftermarket developers for peripheral equipment, applications, etc. that want to understand how the products they develop will affect power consumption in a device (e.g., will an application cause a device to consume too much power, and thus, will users be disinclined to purchase the application, etc.).
Power monitoring is typically performed based on cause or effect analysis. For example, in a cause-based analysis the operation of a device system (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) may be monitored as a proxy for power utilization in the device. In an effect-based analysis, the rate at which power is consumed may be approximated, and then a relationship may be derived between activities that were occurring on the device during the period when power consumption was being monitored. Conclusions resulting from either type of analysis are typically inaccurate as they may be based on estimated power usage extrapolated from various conditions observed in the device. This is necessary because often aftermarket developers do not have tools available to conduct proper power consumption monitoring that considers both potential causes and effects.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.